


Fears

by pkmngame-fankids (Kataang36)



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series)
Genre: Gen, Madie's scared of cars and driving, Original Character(s), Original Character-centric, Originally Posted on Tumblr, pkmn fankids
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-31
Updated: 2017-10-31
Packaged: 2019-01-27 01:40:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12570856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kataang36/pseuds/pkmngame-fankids
Summary: When Madie was learning to drive with Hedvig, she wasn’t expecting to reveal something personal about herself.





	Fears

She dreaded this day, the day when she would sit behind the wheel of a car for the first time. She didn’t want to be here. She  _never_  wanted to be here.

Madie jumped when the door beside her slammed shut, with one of her adoptive mothers sitting down in the passenger seat. Hedvig’s lips were pressed into a thin line, her brown eyes focussed on the gravel road in front of her. In front of them.

_Arceus_.

“Madie, ya sure ya want to do this?” Hedvig spoke up, her voice low. It was like she knew, and Madie hated it. 

“No.” Madie’s voice shook as she responded. She  _really_  didn’t want to drive. It was what took her parents lives – her  _real_  parents. “I have to learn, though. I have to be responsible for my siblings.”

“Just ‘cause ‘Lette doesn’t drive doesn’t mean that ya gotta learn. I can handle driving.” Hedvig said. She briefly glanced over at the redhead, noticing how tightly she was gripping the steering wheel, her knuckles turning white.

“I can drive, I’m not useless. I’m not –” Madie’s voice cracked, and she took a deep breath to steady her nerves. “I’m  _not_  terrified of driving.”

“ _Aye_.” Hedvig said, rolling her eyes. There was a slight sarcastic tone in her voice, displeased with the obvious lie.

With a shaky sigh, Madie’s grip on the steering wheel tightened. “Just – just tell me what I need to do.”

“Ya want to live, doncha? Buckle up for starters and  _then_  I’ll give ya the basics of the dashboard.”

* * *

She wanted to cry, to slam on the breaks and walk home and never get back in the drivers seat again. She hated this. She  _hated_  it.

“Look, ya gotta breathe. Focus on what’s ahead of ya.” Hedvig said. She was leaning forward about an inch, ready to grab the steering wheel if something went wrong. Yet, the rest of her body language alluded at how relaxed she was. Her hands neatly placed on her lap and her even breathing all threw Madie off.

_How could she be so calm?_  Didn’t she  _realize_  what cars did to people? What  _drivers_  did?

“I’m trying!” Madie muttered, her grip tightening on the wheel.

It wasn’t a lie, she  _was_  trying. She was doing her best to keep her breathing even, to keep her eyes in front instead of jumping around and looking at anything but the gravel in front of her. Nothing, however, seemed to be working for her.

She  _couldn’t_  do this.

Without thinking, Madie slammed on the breaks, forcing both her and Hedvig forward, their seatbelts preventing them from crashing into the dash in front of them. Hedvig glanced over at Madie, a small concerned frown on her face.

“Ya need some fresh air.” She said. “Let’s take a bit of a break and walk around a bit, ‘kay?”

* * *

Somehow, the fresh air did end up calming her down. The smell of pine trees all around her helped clear her mind and the soft breeze was enough to keep her from remembering driving. Even with Hedvig walking beside her, Madie was relatively calm.

“Mind if I ask ya a question?” Hedvig asked, tucking her hands into her pockets. Madie looked over at her, an odd look on her face.

“You just did.” Madie said.

Hedvig snorted, a grin appearing on her face. “Fair enough.” She looked up at the sky, hesitating before continuing. “Ya don’t like cars and driving, so why learn how to drive?”

Madie crossed her arms, not knowing how to respond for a few minutes. “I want to be responsible for my siblings. I  _need_  to be responsible for them.” She sighed softly, rubbing her arms. “I  _can’t_  lose them too.”

“Ya are afraid of losing those ya care about, I get that. But putting yourself in an uncomfortable situation ain’t the way to do it.” Hedvig said. “Ya know, ‘Lette and I didn’t always get along. We were at each other’s throats until we realized that we shared a deep rooted fear; being alone. Because we knew each other’s fear and pain, we slowly started growing closer and closer, until we started datin’. We confide in each other, we trust each other.”

“What’s this got to do with anything?”

“Ya gotta be able to confide in people about fears to be able to face ‘em. Bottlin’ things up ain’t healthy.”

“You make it sound so  _easy_. But it’s  _not_.”

Hedvig laughed, though Madie noted that it sounded almost forced. “Aye, it ain’t easy. Don’t get me wrong about that. Sometimes ya just gotta tell people so ya don’t face your fears alone, ya know?”

* * *

By the time they got back to the car, two hours had passed, and neither of them had spoken much. Madie still had her arms cross across her chest, uncomfortable with any more conversation. Her eyebrows were furrowed together, and she was looking at the dirt below her feet intently as she walked. Her thoughts were still at the conversation with Hedvig, who was walking in front of her, her instincts screaming at her to say why she needed the break, but her mind kept on telling her not to, that something would go wrong.

“Would ya want to drive back home, or nah?” Hedvig said casually, her voice disrupting the silence that Madie had grown accustomed to. 

“I’m afraid of driving.” Madie blurted out, her voice suddenly quiet. “I think it stems from the nature of my parents’ deaths. It’s just  _not_  fair, all I want to do is help, but my damn fear keeps on stopping me.”

Hedvig stopped walking, her shoulders suddenly relaxed for the first time since they had set out driving. “I know. Ya were showin’ all the signs of bein’ afraid on our way out here. But wanna know what I also know? Ya  _don’t_  need to drive to help, Madie. Keepin’ your siblings safe and happy in the back helps keep me focussed on the road. Keeps me from gettin’ distracted. Ya help in your own way, and I appreciate that.” 

With a small smile, she turned back at Madie. “I’ll drive back, ‘kay? Ya get free range to choose what music ya want.”


End file.
